Device for use in connection with the game of golf



Feb. 3. 1925.

L. C. HILL DEVICE FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH THE GAME OF GOLF Filed Dec. 27, 1923 emented Feb. 3, 1925.

UNITED TATE-s Lawnmvcri snort r-rrrniorwrsrnrrrnerrerr, ENGLAND.

Device r013. snnv comanoteron WITH THE same or GOLF.

Application f ledeDeceiu ber 27, 1923. Serial No. 682,997.

To all 'lU/LOIIZ- it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAwnENoE CECIL HILL, a subject of the Kingdom of GreatBr-itain, residing at Chemico lVorks, BradfordStreet, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England. have invented Improvements in or Relating to a Device for Use in Gonnection with the Game of Golf, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention is for improvements in or relating to a device for use in connection with the game of golf, and more particularly to a device wherein a golfer may practise driving a golf ball, and has for its object the provision of a device having a captive ball which may be driven by the golfer, and the approximate length of the drive which would have been accomplished had the ball been free, recorded upon an indicating device.

According to the present invention, thereis provided a device for use in connection with the game of golf, which comprises a spindle arranged to be mounted in an upright manner, an arm operatively connected to said spindle, so as to radiate therefrom, and carry at its free end a golf ball, and an indicating member operatively connected to said spindle, whereby circumferential distances travelled by the said golf ball are registered by the said indicating member.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the device according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation on the line AA of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate one method of carrying the invention into effect, there is shown a vertical spindle 1, carried in bearings 2 and 3, in a cover plate and base-plate 5 respectively. At the upper end of the spindle 1 there is mounted a radial arm 6, preferably composed of some such flexible material as steel wire. The arm 6 is adapted to extend through the spindle 1 and carry at one end thereof a golf ball 7, which is secured thereto by means of nuts 8 and 9. The other end of the radial arm 6 is provided with a balance weight 16 which is secured to the rod 6 by means of a grub screw 17.

concentrically mounted upon the spindle 1 is a pinion 10, which is arranged to mesh with a second pinion 11, which carries a third pinion 12. The pinion 12 is arranged to mesh with a fourth pinion 13, which has mounted concentrically therewith an indicating member 14. The train of pinions 10, 11, 12 and 13 are suitably geared down so that they operate the indicating member 14 to :register in yards the circumferential distance travelled by the golf ball 7, whereby large circumferential movements by'the golf ball 7 are recorded by the indicating member 14 upon an indicating plate 15, mounted concentrically with the member 14.

The plate 15 is rotatably mounted upon the spindle 18, which carries both the pinion 13 and the pointer 14, so that it may be brought into a position at the end of every drive whereby the member 14 is situated opposite the zero mark.

Thus it will be seen that if the casing which comprises the cover plate 4, and the base plate 5 in which the spindle 1 is mounted, is secured firmly to the ground, with the spindle 1 in an upright manner, and the golf ball 7 at the end of the radial arm 6 is driven by means of a driver, the ball 7 will rotate the spindle 1 in its bearings 2 and 3, and will make a considerable number of complete revolutions about the longitudinal axis of the spindle 1 before it comes to rest. Due to the fact that the spindle 1 is geared to the indicating member 14, the latter can be so geared down that for a circumferential distance of, say, 150 yards travelled by the golf ball 7, the indicating member 14 may be arranged to rotate through 270, and come to rest at the division on the indicating plate 15 marked 150 yards.

It will be appreciated that devices may be constructed wherein the train of pinions 10, 11, 12 and 13 may vary so that the different devices register drives of different lengths.

Thus it will be seen that according to the present invention, it is possible for a golfer to practise driving withn a confined space, and gauge, by the movements of the indicating member 14, the difierentvalues of the strokes performed, and in this way would be able to study carefully the value of different stances and method of holding a club, and also the different results obtained by a following-through stroke of either a fast or slow character.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A device for use in connection with the game of golf", comprising, in combination, a

HM MW baseplate, a cover-plate mounted co-axially and in parallel relationship with said baseplate, each of said plates having bearings, a rotatable spindle extending above the cover plate and mounted in said bearings in said base and cover plates and having a horizontal extending opening, an arm arranged to extend through said opening of the spindle, so as to radiate from the longitudinal axis thereof, a golf ball rigidly secured to one end of said arm, a balance weight secured to the other end thereof, an indicator mounted on said base-plate, and a train of pinions operatively connecting said spindle to said indicator.

2. A device for use in connection with the game of golf, comprising, in combination, a base-plate, a cover-plate mounted co-axially and in parallel relationship with said base-plate, each of said plates having bearings, a rotatable spindle extending above the cover-plate and mounted in said bearings in said base-plate and cover-plate and having a horizontally extending opening, an arm arranged to extend through said opening of the spindle, so as to radiate from the longitudinal axis thereof, a golf ball rigidly secured to one end of said arm, a balance weight mounted on the other end of said arm, an indicator mounted on said base-plate, an adjustable indicating plate mounted co-axially with said indicator, and a train of pinion wheels operatively con necting said plate with said indicator.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LAVRENGE CECIL HILL. 

